Installation view of A Gathering of Light, Mumbai (IN), Photo by Aditya Sinha for Nilaya Anthology
Your Perfect Tits Series: Candlestands at a gathering of light, group show at nilaya anthology, 2025
Concept Note
Light has always marked our rituals of gathering. From shared spaces of worship to the private sanctuaries we call home, it sparks celebration; transforming ordinary places into worlds illuminated with new perspective and meaning. The candlestand, though modest in form, has long been central to such rituals — a vessel for light’s beauty and intention.
A Gathering of Light was an invitation to 23 artists and designers, both established and emerging, to reimagine this archetype through their own lens. Each creation carries the mark of its maker, their aesthetic language, and their individual interpretation of what light can bring to the table. When viewed together, they reveal a collective narrative. Of renewed spirit, form, and tradition in conversation with the contemporary.
From stone to textile, and restraint to indulgent ornamentation, these pieces are all collectable portals of light. Offerings entirely befitting of this season, for a space you call your own.
Your Perfect Tits Series: Candlestands, 2025 for Nilaya Anthology
In Your Perfect Tits, part of an ongoing series, I focus on my breasts—interpreting comments like “perky” and “tight” through anatomical references, extrusion, and the hypersexualised body types seen in pornography.
By appropriating 18th-century English delftware and Victorian motifs, these candle stands reflect India’s entanglement with postcolonial aesthetics. The 22-karat gold ornament erodes under fire. Their glossy, glazed, protruding nipple sparks action—to flick, grab, grope, stimulate, and so on. The contrast of blue and white with terracotta underscores Western influence in shaping Indian identity.
These forms move between body and object—never whole yet held together by the gaze, interrogating notions of bodily autonomy, agency, and perception.
